African oil production faces numerous challenges in Q2
Africa plays a vital role in the global oil market, with its producing nations contributing around 8 per cent of total global supply. However, the second quarter of 2023 has seen numerous production challenges.
The African Energy Chamber (AEC) explores the production decline in our newly released report, “The State of African Energy: 2Q 2023 Outlook.” It notes that between January and May of this year, Africa lost approximately 180,000 barrels per day (bdp) of production due to unplanned outages, while planned maintenance activities shaved off an additional 83,000 bpd.
BALANCING PRODUCTION WITH SUSTAINABILITY
Maintenance activities are necessary for sustaining production levels and ensuring the longevity of oil infrastructure. However, in Africa, maintenance efforts too often lead to declines in production.
Opec production targets and voluntary cuts have further complicated Africa’s oil production endeavors. Algeria stands as the only African Opec member nation with a production capacity above the Opec target in 2023.
This isn’t to say that there haven’t been signs of promise and growth this quarter. After a year of volatile production in Libya last year, marked by multiple production outages due to civil unrest, the country’s oil production seems to be stabilising.
Earlier this month, Libya’s National Oil Corporation announced that international oil companies Eni (Italy) and BP (United Kingdom) had notified it about lifting force majeure and resuming activities in several onshore and offshore blocks.
